


A Kind Touch

by VixenRose1996



Series: So It Goes Like This: [2]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Ace in Wano, Age Difference, Cuddling & Snuggling, F/M, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Light Petting, POV Second Person, Present Tense, Someone had too, Wano Country (One Piece), Yes I ship them, star-crossed lovers, the cute kind
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-09-25
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:21:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26642896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VixenRose1996/pseuds/VixenRose1996
Summary: "I think you're purring."Eyes still closed, you shift and resettle your weight against the narrow chest beneath you. "You feel so warm," you mumble. "I've had a headache all day and it's finally gone."Ace laughs and you feel his mint-scented breathe blow over your face as he continues to comb his fingers through your long, ash blonde hair.
Relationships: Portgas D. Ace/Yamato (One Piece)
Series: So It Goes Like This: [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1938352
Comments: 21
Kudos: 45





	A Kind Touch

**Author's Note:**

> 1) Yes, I ship these two. Come at me! I got tired of waiting for someone else to write a fic about them.
> 
> 2) I FULLY acknowledge that everything in this story will probably be disproved when we get a Yamato flashback but, duck it, I'm going to have my fun until then!
> 
> 3) This is actually kind of a preview for a longer fic I'm writing.

"I think you're purring."

Eyes still closed, you shift and resettle your weight against the narrow chest beneath you. "You feel so warm," you mumble. "I've had a headache all day and it's _fiiinnnalllyyy_ gone."

Ace laughs and you feel his mint-scented breathe blow over your face as he continues to comb his fingers through your long, ash blonde hair. He rubs one of his thumbs against the base of your horns while the other traces along your jaw. What had started as a friendly wrestling match had turned into lying against one another in a pile of loose, relaxed limbs and you feeling nicer than you have in a _long_ time.

You'd been like this for _hours_ now, neither of you really saying anything but instead just enjoying the closeness of your bodies touching. Ace's body is warm and his fingers are strong but careful, their callous creating a surprising delicious sensation as he runs them through the tangles of your hair, across the angles of your face, and then down your neck and arms. He smells nice too, like wood smoke and spice and the sea that he loves so much and that you desperately want to see. 

"I used to do this for Luffy whenever he was scared or upset by something," Ace muses and even though you can't see his face from this position, you can clearly picture the fond, wistful look he has whenever his little brother comes up. 

Deciding you want to see that smile in person, you roll over so you're chest-to-chest with him. Your size difference makes the motion awkward; Ace isn't exactly short, a solid six feet tall and probably still growing -Gol D. Roger was a nine feet tall, Oden made note of this in his logbook, but you know better than to mention that-, but he is still much short than you and his entire frame is only about the length of your upper body. You also have to be careful not to stab him with the sharp tips of your horns; it _has_ happened before and while Ace is a logia, it was still embarrassing. 

Ace doesn't protest though, remaining still as you settle back down until you have one arm cross over his muscled chest, your chin hooked over your forearm, with the other loosely wrapped around his narrow waist. He gives you a confused look though, doubtlessly thinking that this is an uncomfortable angle for you as he is propped up by some pillows crammed against a few stacked sacks of rice. 

You smile and rub a thumb against the bumps of his lower spine. "This is how you made your brother feel better, huh?"

That soft, sweet smile Ace returned in full force and it makes you smile even wider. It is a smile that you press against his beating heart, your lips against his warm, sun-tanned skin. 

"Yeah," he says, his fingers subconsciously starting to tap their way down your back. "He's a big crybaby so whenever there was a bad thunderstorm or he had a nightmare or Gramps was being an ass or he had a dream about..."

Ace trails off, smile falling away and eyes turning sad. You immediately look to the tattoo on Ace's arm, the crossed-out S standing out as a reminder of a brother lost so long ago. Selfishly, you don't want to let such sadness touch the happiness you've found just lying here with Ace after so many years of loneliness. So you wrap your free hand around his bicep, covering the tattoo, and ask, "Did it work?"

That knocks Ace out of his somberness and the smile returns, as do the fingers through your hair and playing with one of your earrings. "Always, it always made him really happy," he chuckled. "Sometimes I think he faked being upset just so I'd do it; he even made me do it for hours the day before I set sail."

He doesn't sound angry though, more amused, and you find yourself giggling. "Even if you knew Luffy was faking it, you'd have done it anyway."

"...Yes, I would have." 

You both burst out laughing again and you drop your head back down to the hard panes of Ace's chest. As the laughing peters out and you return to a comfortable silence, you turn your head and press your cheek against his skin. Ace's heart is beating a lullaby against your ear and you never want this to end. 

You never want Ace to leave Wano, to leave Onigashima, to leave **_you!_**

And you _could_ keep him, you know that, just so long as you sold your soul and heart and dream to Kaido. You don't doubt that, if you gave in to Kaido's wish and became the child he desired, there would be little in the world that he wouldn't give you. If you abandoned yourself, Kaido... Father would give you a crew, a ship, and everything you'd need to sail every sea in the world.

If you just fell in line, Father would bind and break Ace until he'd never dream of leaving.

If you just obeyed, Father would give you the world.

You tighten your grip on Ace and fight down a surge of anger. 

No, Kaido has taken so much from the world, from Wano, and from you -your freedom, chief among them, but also your childish innocence, the ability to have a normal life, and any naive you once had- but he will _never_ have your dream and he will _never_ have Ace.

"Yamato?" Ace asks, smoothing back your bangs so he could look you in the eye. "You okay?"

You don't say anything, asking instead, "So where did you learn your magic touch?"

"Hmmm?"

“Who taught you?” you explain. “Who did this to…”

Now it's your turn to trail off once you catch the look on Ace's face and it hits you that no one has ever touched him like this. 

It's such a tragic thought. You know Ace loves people deeply, has listened to his many, many, many stories about his brothers, about the bandits who looked after him growing up, about the kind barmaid who taught him manners, about his crew that you desperately would like to meet, and even his adopted grandfather. 

-After everything you've heard about Monkey D. Garp, the Hero of the Marines, from Kaido & the Beast Pirates and read about him in Oden's logbook, the fact that he secretly took in the Pirate King's son both is and isn't surprising but you're grateful he did so none the less.-

But, despite all the love he had for others, Ace himself seemed completely oblivious for the love they had for him. 

_'Its more than that though,'_ you think, _'he believes himself unworthy of that love.'_

For all those in the world that cared for and admired Ace, the young pirate would forever see himself as dirty and tainted by the blood of his father. You want so desperately to have him read your bible so he could see all the wonderful things Oden wrote about Roger. You want Ace to see that Roger, while not a saint by any means, wasn't the cruel, evil figure the World Government's propaganda painted him as. You hope that, if he did, Ace would be able to see he wasn't a child born of crime and sin and that he had as much right to live as anyone else. 

.  
.  
.

But Ace never would; he'd never be able to believe Roger was anything but a demon and you **GET IT** because the two of you are alike in so many ways. After all, you are the only child of Kaido, a man so monstrous that he was deemed a 'creature' and a 'thing' by his enemies who couldn't conceive that he was human.

You doubt it yourself sometimes and wonder what that makes you. 

Your father has destroyed so much, taken so much, ended so many lives. He killed the Great Lord Oden and helped ensure the suffering of Wano by backing that snake Orochi. He has imprisoned you with a pair of exploding cuffs around each wrist just so he could be sure you'd never leave him. 

And despite all of this, you can't hate him with your whole heart. Despite knowing how evil Kaido is, despite knowing all the horrible things he had done, and despite eagerly waiting for the day when Kaido and Orochi are overthrown, he is still your father. He is not a great father or even just a good one but he is the only one you've ever known and for that reason alone, some part of you will _always_ love him. 

As for you... Well, you can't say for certain that Kaido loves you but you _do_ know that he cares to some extent. After all, why else would he have always overseen your training personally? Why else would he have bought ~~Big Sis Maria~~ Black Maria from a slave market specifically to be your playmate, not knowing she'd eventually grow to be one of his most loyal subordinates? Why else would he tolerate your long-standing refusal to obey him? Why else would he have put Orochi in his place when the bastard complained about how you dress? Why else would he have refused outright any of Big Mom's attempts to create a union between you and one of her creepy children?

Without a word, you wrap your arms around Ace's waist and roll until you're on your back and he is on top of you. He gives you a bemused look but doesn't resist when you grip his shoulders and push him down your body until you can tuck the crown of his head under your chin. You put on hand on his lower back and use the other to cup the back of his neck then Ace turns bright red when you firmly press his head down until it is nestled against the soft curves of your chest. 

Ace is young, having only turned eighteen last month, and you sometimes forget that. Maybe you _want_ to forget that... after all, you are twenty-four and that is a pretty big age gap. 

"What are you up to now?" he asked, half-shy and half-amused, as he wiggles into a more comfortable -or, more likely, a less embarrassing- position, with his cheek against your shoulder. He doesn't know what to do with his arms, so they just flop to your sides. 

You smile, drop a kiss onto his forehead (causing his blush to darken), and say, "It's my turn!"

You've never done this before so you just try to copy what Ace had been doing. You card your hands through his thick, coal-black hair, scrapping your fingernails against his skull and smile when he practically mewls against your shoulder. Sometimes one of his unruly curls will catch on a finger and you pull it taut before releasing it and starting again. 

Kaido had never hugged you, never kissed your head, or tucked you into bed; you can't remember him ever holding you in any loving way at all. But... there were times he'd been _gentle_ with you, as much as he could be. 

When you were very small, you remember him lifting you up so you could hang from his horns or letting you sit on his shoulder. You remember him giving you rides in his dragon form, endless lands and seas stretched out beneath the two of you. Sometimes, after a particularly brutal training session that had left you bruised and sore and struggling to move, Kaido will silently pick you up, hold you against his massive chest, and carry you to the infirmary where he will wait, still aggravatingly silent, as he waiting for the doctors to patch you up before leaving without a single word. 

Even putting Father aside, you grew up with attendants who would always be ever so gentle when brushing your hair and helping you dress. You had tutors who patted your head and praised you when you succeeded in your lessons. You had servants who fed you wonderful food and who cooed while whipping off your face when you ate too messily. Even when you grew up and realized that their sweetness almost certainly came from fear of what would happen if they displeased you or Kaido felt they weren't carrying for you properly, you still were thankful for it. 

You also had ~~Big Sis Maria~~ Black Maria, who played with you and kept you company whenever Father had to leave Onigashima for whatever reason. For so long, the two of you were attached at the hip; you had sleepovers and tea parties and did each other's hair. She was your confidant and only friend. 

Then you turned eight, witnessed the Hour of Legend, realized that Father was a BAD MAN, and distanced yourself from everyone. If there was one thing you truly regret about refusing to obey Kaido, it is that you lost that bond with her. 

Shaking those thoughts away, you re-focus on the task at hand. Slowly, every last bit of tension melts from Ace's body as you move your hands down his neck and massage your fingertips into his shoulder and back muscles, exploring all the little scars he must have gotten before eating his devil fruit and count his freckles. His body is made of pure lean, powerful muscle -you doubt there is an ounce of fat anywhere on it- so you don't hesitate to press down a little harder, something that gets you a cute little gasp. With your thumb, you rub small circles at the base of his spine, right above the top of his short. Ace shifts again and you can feel his lips against the hollow of your neck as he lets out these kitten-ish little pants. 

Hours... or maybe just minutes, it's hard to tell, pass, and, eventually, you feel Ace go completely lax in your arms, dead asleep. It could have just been a narcoleptic fit but you like to believe that you're the cause, that your touch put him at ease to the point he drifted off in spite of himself. The idea that someone could feel that safe around you makes you feel nice... like it is an acknowledgment that, despite not being able to protect anyone from Kaido, you are still a good person. 

Looking down, you can't really see Ace's face, as it is still tucked into your neck, but you can still see the curve of his cheek and jaw which still has a touch of childish roundness clinging to it. There is a rush of sadness and, without meaning to, you hold him tighter against your body. Ace is so warm and fits so well in your arms that you never want to let him go. Evidently, you squeeze a bit too hard because he grumbles and shifts in his sleep. 

Guilty, you kiss the top of his head again and rub his back as the chain links attached to you the cuff on your wrist clink together. The sound has gone achingly, excruciatingly familiar in the past sixteen years but it makes you frown all the same. 

_"You're going to be free one day,"_ Ace had promised after learning the cuffs' purpose. _"I'm going to make sure of it."_

You can't leave Onigashima.

You can't go out to sea with Ace.

You can't keep Ace.

You can't protect the people of Wano.

You can't beat Kaido in a fight.

All you can do is wait until the time is right and make sure you're strong enough when the time comes.

Tomorrow, you'll start pushing Ace to leave Wano with his crew. There is only some much longer you can conceivably hide him from Father & the Beast Pirates and if Kaido finds Ace here, you know he'll never let the young captain go. And, god, if Kaido somehow finds out about Ace's father... you don't even want to think about it. So, tomorrow, you'll push him to leave for his own safety but, selfishly, you make him promise to return to Wano... to you, in four years after he has gotten stronger and gathered a bigger crew.

But, right now, you'll just enjoy the fact you can get Ace to relax. For tonight, you'll enjoy being close to him and feeling his skin against yours. For now, you relish in the sanctuary this little cave provides. For now, you'll let yourself feel happy. 

For now, you'll do your best to make sure Ace knows he is loved.

**Author's Note:**

> For the record, I wrote this in 2nd person ENTIRELY so I didn't have to deal with the hot-button issue of Yamato's pronouns and gender identity. No matter what I used, someone would have been upset so I decided to use no one them. Please don't argue about it in the comment section.


End file.
